Application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to the the field-based characterization of nuclear and hazardous wastes

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a highly versatile tool for the rapid, field-based analysis of materials to determine elemental composition. Because of this versatility, it has many potential applications to the analysis of toxic materials under conditions not possible using conventional analysis methods. In this paper the authors discuss several analysis scenarios using LIBS that are adaptable to the determination of the elemental composition of nuclear and hazardous wastes.